Gohan: Rebirth
by thegreenpuma88
Summary: AU After the events of the Cell Games, Gohan decides to continue his training and protect his family, friends, and the Earth.


Okay, so I know starting another story when I haven't updated any of mine in years is probably a bad idea but…oh well. I've been taking a break from writing fanfiction, but I haven't stopped reading it. And now I want to start writing again! Yay! I'm starting a new story because I will be editing and redoing my old stories because they are crap (but then again, they are from a few years ago…) and I need to make them better. So hopefully this story will be better. Please R&R and leave constructive criticism.

~~~~~~Gohan: Rebirth~~~~~~~~

Summary: AU Instead of Gohan slacking off on his training after the Cell Games, he decides to train full force to protect the Earth and his loved ones.

"talking"

'_thinking'_

'**mentally talking'**

~~~~~~Gohan: Rebirth~~~~~~~~

Yes I know that this particular plot has been written and used several times already but so have so many other stories on this site. It is an Alternate Universe so there will be many differences from the actual storyline. Rating is T for language (present and future) and fighting (duh!) and just to be on the safe side. Also, this is not a yaoi or incest story so please do not take some of the stuff in this story wrongly. Thank you.

~~~~~~Gohan: Rebirth~~~~~~~~

Cheers!

~~~~~~Gohan: Rebirth~~~~~~~~

Thousands of bright stars twinkled against the ink black sky as a few lonely wisps of clouds occasionally blocked one's view. There was no moon present to illuminate the night sky and the evening air was unseasonably cool.

Deep in the Mt. Paozu region, a small domed house was locked up for the night: no lights and no sounds being emitted from within. Son Chi-Chi was twisted haphazardly under her covers, her hair a mess and tear-tracks slowly drying against her cheeks. In her slumber, one hand was unconsciously placed against her lower abdomen, her motherly instincts already kicking into gear. She slept deeply, her grief from the day's events finally making her exhausted enough to sleep.

Down the hall from his parents' bedroom, a certain ebony-haired teenager sat cross-legged on his bed. With a somber expression on his usually cheerful face, Son Gohan stared vacantly out into the midnight sky, his thoughts skipping around from the events of the last 12-hours.

Gohan, wearing a t-shirt and boxers, shivered slightly and pulled his covers around him as a slight breeze blew in from his open window. Taking a deep breath, Gohan closed his eyes and allowed for a couple of salty tears to fall from his onyx eyes, his emotions struggling to break free.

His hands subconsciously clenched into fists as his mind jumped back to his father's untimely death and his mother's realization that she was pregnant.

'_God, Gohan, how could you be so careless? You let your father die because of your arrogance and now because of you, your unborn sibling is never going to have a father!'_

It was true. If he had only listened to his father and finished off Cell when he had the chance, everything would okay right now. His mother wouldn't have cried herself to sleep, his unborn brother or sister would have a father, and his father would still be here with him!

Gohan snorted and shook his head. Piccolo would beat him silly if he heard his thoughts right now. And then scold him for even suggesting he was to blame. Taking another deep breath, Gohan looked back toward the night sky, spotting a shooting star leaving a burning trail against the black abyss.

As cheesy as the myth was, Gohan was desperate for a miracle right now, anything to rectify his mistakes. The teenaged half-saiyan closed his eyes tightly, thinking of the one thing he wanted more than life itself.

'_Please bring my Daddy home.'_

Opening his eyes, fresh tears threatening to spill over, Gohan collapsed in a heap on his bed, his muffled sobs falling on deaf ears.

~~~~~~Gohan: Rebirth~~~~~~~~

Chi-Chi awoke the next morning to bright sunlight and a very stiff neck. She blinked slowly, her vision coming into focus, and her thoughts becoming more and more coherent. Once her memory returned, her eyes shot open and she snuck a glance to her husband's spot in bed as she sat up. His absence only confirmed what she had hoped had been a bad dream.

Goku was gone and this time he wasn't coming back. He would never know his second child. He would never get to watch Gohan grow up. And he would never be a father to Gohan again.

Chi-Chi shut her eyes and wrestled with her emotions, determined not to cry again. At least not right now. Gohan needed her to be strong; she had seen the pain in her son's eyes even as he tried to mask it. She knew that Goku's death was tearing up Gohan's soul and she knew that Gohan would be hurting for a very long time. Gohan needed support right, not a hysterical widow.

Taking this little tidbit of information to heart, Chi-Chi sat up straight and stood up, slipping on her house shoes. She breathed in deeply, keeping her emotions in check for the sake of herself, Gohan, and her baby, and walked into the bathroom to freshen up before making breakfast.

~~~~~~Gohan: Rebirth~~~~~~~~

Chi-Chi walked out of the bathroom after taking a nice hot shower and putting on the same style dress she wore every day. She had pinned her hair into her traditional, uptight bun, firm in her belief that she had to keep her routine as normal as possible for Gohan.

She smiled sadly and opened her bedroom door, coming upon her son's bedroom as she walked down the hall. Pausing at Gohan's doorway, Chi-Chi quietly cracked his door open and peered inward. She chuckled softly at the disarray of her son's bed sheets and at her son himself. His blankets were twisted and halfway off of the bed, while Gohan himself was hanging off the bed, limps sprawled out lazily. His mouth opened slightly, a few small snores emitting themselves from Gohan, a testament to his need for good solid rest.

Chi-Chi decided to let him sleep, backing away slowly, and gently closing the door. She continued on her way downstairs and proceeded to make her way downstairs when she froze. Something or someone was in her kitchen. She could barely make out a few scuffling noises, but her instincts told her there was an intruder in her home.

She glanced back toward her son's bedroom, knowing that he would have no problem dispatching whoever had broken into their home. Chi-Chi shook her vigorously. No! She would not bring Gohan into this. Maybe she was over-reacting. Maybe nobody had broken in and she was just imaging these sounds because how desperate she was to have Goku back.

Chalking the noises up to be her own fantasies, Chi-Chi walked down the rest of the stairs. She passed by the living room and rounded the corner into the kitchen and froze like a deer caught in headlights. She was not alone in her kitchen.

"Hey Chi-Chi!"

Chi-Chi blinked and gaped, wide-eyed at the spiky-haired man that stood happily in her kitchen. She swallowed thickly, her emotions already getting the best of her and preventing her from speaking.

"Hey, honey? Um, Chi-Chi? Are you okay?"

The wife of Son Goku could not remember how to move, much less answer her supposedly deceased husband. Trembling slightly, Chi-Chi finally regained her wits and nodded her head once slowly as tears began to spill down her cheeks.

When Chi-Chi found her voice a few seconds later, she stammered out, "Goku? I-is that really you?"

Goku laughed merrily, "Yep! Who else would it be?"

Giving his trademark grin, Goku reached out for his wife, pulling her into a deep embrace. She collapsed into him, her hands grabbing for purchase against his orange gi top. Careful not to hug her too hard, Goku buried his face into his wife's hair as she began to sob into his broad chest. He rubbed her back slowly in soothing circles, waiting for her tears to stop.

After a minute or so, her tears ceased and her breathing evened out and Chi-Chi gently pulled away from Goku's embrace. Gazing into her mate's eyes, Chi-Chi smiled softly and quietly asked, "I thought you were dead? You said you didn't want to come back. What-? How-?"

Goku sheepishly rubbed his head and laughed anxiously, "Well, you see…Um I don't really understand it myself. Last night, the Grand Kai requested to see me urgently. And when I went to go talk to him, he said that I had been granted another life."

Chi-Chi stared up at him, shocked at this unusual turn of events. Getting past her initial surprise and confusion, she prodded him on, "And… I don't understand what happened either! How-"

Holding his calloused hands out in front of him, he tried to calm his wife down, "Hold on, Chi-Chi! I'm getting to it." Laughing a little bit before he continued, Goku went on with his explanation.

"Grand Kai said that he couldn't go into full details. But I was granted another life so I could return to Earth!"

Chi-Chi shook her head, still unsure of what happened, "But you said you didn't want to come back. You said you wanted to stay dead to protect the Earth. I don't understand…"

"Well…you see… after I made my decision, um… I started thinking about what I was turning away from. I would be leaving everyone behind…you…Gohan… I would miss so much and well…in a few days, if not sooner, I think I might've had the Nameks wish me back. So it all worked out in the end!"

Shaking tears of joy out of her eyes, Chi-Chi gave Goku another tight hug, smiling broadly. Everything would be okay-Goku was back and both of her kids would have a father. Their family would be whole again.

Realizing that Goku had no idea he was about to be a father again, Chi-Chi grinned. How wonderful it was to have Goku back! Looking up at her husband, Chi-Chi cleared her throat. This got Goku's full undivided attention and he turned to look imploringly upon his wife, "What's up, Chi-Chi?"

Joyous tears once again springing to her eyes, Chi-Chi softly, but gleefully said, "Goku…I'm so glad you came back. Otherwise…" Chi-Chi took a deep, calming breath, "Otherwise, you would have missed the chance to be a daddy again!"

A look of astonishment swept over Goku's face as he painstakingly comprehended what Chi-Chi had just told him. Then, as everything clicked into place and Goku understood what Chi-Chi had implied, Goku's face lit up like a Christmas tree, "You mean we're going to have baby?"

Chi-Chi nodded happily; she let out a small yelp of surprise as Goku lifted her up in his arms and spun her around joyfully. The look on Goku's face was one of pure joy as he realized the miracle he had been given. He had a chance to be with his family again and to be a father to both Gohan and his unborn child.

As Goku carefully set Chi-Chi down, she smoothed the wrinkles in her dress and tucked a few loose strands of hair behind her ears. Wiping away the last remnants of her final tears, Chi-Chi asked, "Say Goku? Would you like to wake Gohan up while I start on breakfast? He will be so happy to see you. He was really upset last night, poor thing."

Goku nodded sorrowfully, "Yeah. I figured as much. I need to apologize. I should have never put him through this. I was stupid and careless. I didn't even think about the consequences of-."

His words were cut off when Chi-Chi's hand connected with his cheek, resulting in a loud, painful 'smack!'. Startled, Goku looked questioningly at his wife, who now looked quite angry. He gulped, ready to be chewed out for sending Gohan to fight Cell.

However, the verbal lashing he received was not what he had been expecting, "Son Goku! Do not even talk like that! Did I want Gohan to fight? No! Of course not! Did you think your plan out completely? Nu-uh! But I will not have blaming yourself like your son was last night!"

Goku stared at his wife. She didn't blame him for sending Gohan to fight Cell? And why was Gohan blaming himself for his death? The full-blooded Saiyan sighed; he really needed to apologize to Gohan for that. His death apparently affected Gohan more than he realized.

"I'm sorry, Chi-Chi. It's just…I feel so bad about my decision. What kind of father am I to send his own son to fight a monster and then abandon him?" Goku stared down at the kitchen floor, focusing his gaze on a rare spot of dirt on the tile.

Chi-Chi let out a breath, and then replied, "Goku… you knew that Gohan was strong enough to beat Cell, didn't you?" Without waiting for a response, she continued, "And as much as I hate to admit it… Gohan is a fighter like you. Even if you didn't send him to fight Cell… he probably would have eventually fought him anyway. It's in his blood to fight and it's in his heart to protect his friends and family. So please, don't beat yourself up about this. Just go talk to him and let him get whatever he needs to out of his system."

Goku just blinked at his wife, unsure of what foreign alien had taken control of his wife's body. She admitted that Gohan was a fighter? Wow, things definitely had changed for the better. Shaking himself out of his self-imposed stupor, Goku nodded, "Okay. I'll go wake him up. And I'll talk to him and make sure he understands this wasn't his fault."

Chi-Chi beamed, "Great! I'll cook breakfast then." Turning away from Goku, she walked to the pantry, grabbing her yellow apron. She fastened the ties around her waist and set her mind onto making a large buffet breakfast for her two food processors. Yes, life was good. Life was normal.

~~~~~~Gohan: Rebirth~~~~~~~~

Goku trudged up the wooden stairs of his home, his mind abuzz with a million different thoughts, ranging from his unusual return from the dead, his wife and her sudden understanding of events, the news that he would be a father again to the fact that he and Gohan had a lot to talk about. Running a hand through his crazy hair as he neared the top of the stairs, he whispered to himself, "I'm sorry, Gohan. I will make this up to you."

Coming to his son's closed bedroom door, Goku gently turned the knob and pushed the wooden door slowly open. Peeking in and walking in gingerly, Goku took in his son's appearance. Gohan was tangled up in his bed covers; his face twisted into a grief-stricken mask. His fists grasped his sheets tightly as Gohan fitfully jerked in bed, muttering, "No…Daddy, come back…I'm sorry…"

Listening to his son's pleas as he was trapped in a nightmare of his father's death, Goku felt his heart shatter in two. This was his fault; Gohan wouldn't be in this much pain had Goku not made the decision to stay dead. Goku's face dropped a little but then perked up a little when he remembered what Chi-Chi had said. He had another opportunity to fix things on Earth and be the parent he was supposed to be.

Striding over to Gohan's bedside, Goku knelt down, placing one hand on his son's warm forehead and the other on top of one of Gohan's hand. He squeezed Gohan's hand gently, calling out softly, "Gohan? It's okay. Daddy's here. It's okay, son."

Gohan moaned slightly and started to stir, his nightmare fading away as he came back into consciousness. He turned over to face his father as he started to open his coal black eyes up, yawning as he did. Just as his memories returned to assault him, his vision cleared and he came face to face with his father.

Goku smiled cheerfully at his shocked son, who had a look similar to Chi-Chi's reaction. Gohan blinked and then cautiously questioned as he slowly rose up in bed, "Dad?"

Grinning at his son's antics, Goku nodded, laughing, "Yep. Who else would I be, Gohan?"

His teenage son's eyes flooded with tears that soon came pouring out as he leaped into his father's arm, giving him the tightest hug he could muster. Gohan had Goku in death grip, afraid that if he let go, his father would disappear…again. Sobs racked Gohan's small frame as clung to his father, all while repeating, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

Repeating his actions from earlier, Goku rubbed tiny circles on his son's back and gently rocked back and forth. Goku rose slowly to sit on Gohan's bed with his back against the wall, continuing to comfort his son. Gohan may have been the strongest on the planet, heck maybe even the entire solar system, but he was still very much in need of his dad.

Gohan's breaths slowly started to even out as an occasional hiccup escaped from his lips, but he still held Goku in a vice grip. He worked to calm himself, but it was so hard to focus at the moment. He was so ecstatic! His wish had come true. Daddy had come back, but… for how long?

Hesitantly looking up, Gohan wiped his eyes as he searched for the signature gold halo that all the dead had. He found none. His gaze traveled to his father's amused eyes.

"Dad, you're halo-you're... are you really-?" Gohan stammered repeatedly, unable to articulate because of his unbridled emotions. Goku chuckled mildly, "Yep. I'm not going anywhere." Gohan buried his face into his father's gi top, taking in the moment.

'_My wish came true! Daddy's back!'_

As happy as Gohan was, he knew he had to apologize to dad for screwing up and nearly getting everyone killed in the process. He was Goku's son-he should have listened to his father and done what he was supposed to. But no, he didn't and his father paid the price.

His emotions must have shown on his face because Goku gently cupped Gohan's chin in his hand and firmly, but lovingly said, "Gohan, I know what you're thinking. But this wasn't your fault. Please don't blame yourself for what happened. You have nothing to be sorry or guilty about."

Gohan vigorously shook his head, tears once again forming in his eyes, "But Dad! I got you killed! I should have listened to you and I didn't and I nearly killed everyone because of me and I'm sorry! I'm sorry…"

His voice trailed off as Gohan broke down into sobs; Goku sighed and hugged his son even tighter.

"Gohan. Look at me." Gohan shook his head and buried his face further into his father's shoulder.

"Gohan. Look at me, please." Goku's voice took on more of a commanding tone but still held boundless love for the boy; his son looked up timidly as if he was afraid that Goku would reject him.

Once he had Gohan's attention, Goku continued, "No. I don't blame you for my death and you shouldn't either. I should have told you my plan or helped you train your new form. There are so many things I should have done, but I didn't. So please don't blame yourself for my death. You made me proud, Gohan. And I love you."

After he finished speaking, Goku pulled Gohan back into his embrace and was relieved to feel Gohan relax and his guilt seemingly melt away. Bowing his head down into his son's thick black hair, Goku kissed Gohan's forehead softly, before rubbing his back.

"Alright, kiddo. What do you say we eat some breakfast and then go visit with our friends? And go fishing?" Goku was eager to make up lost time with Gohan and he was ready to start now.

Gohan nodded, "Sounds great!" His usual cherry self seemed to have returned and his eyes once again shone with the excitement they usually had.

Smiling, Goku added, "Okay then. Why don't you get changed and I'll meet you downstairs?" Goku started to rise from the bed as Gohan peeled himself off of his father's lap and sat on his bed.

"Okay Dad." Gohan stood up from the bed and started to his closet, when his dad suddenly grabbed him from behind. A surprised yap escaped from Gohan as his Dad picked him up and dropped him playfully on his bed. "Dad, what are y-?"

Gohan's question was cut off as Goku began to mercilessly tickle him. Goku moved with expert fingers along Gohan's rib cage, knowing exactly where his son's weak points were.

Giggling hysterically, Gohan begged his father for leniency, "Ah, Dad! Okay, okay I give up! Dad! Haha! Okay! Dad!" Gohan's laughs continued as Goku kept his attack up. Eventually, when Gohan was gasping for air, Goku let up and collapsed next to his son on the bed. Two big cheesy Son grins adorned their faces.

Breathing heavily, Gohan titled his head to look at his father, smiled and said, "I'm glad you're back, Daddy."

Goku turned his head and beamed at his son, placing one hand on his son's mop, "Me too."

~~~~~~Gohan: Rebirth~~~~~~~~

So… how was it? Too cheesy? Too sappy? Too boring? Honestly, I can say that this is the longest first chapter I have ever written for a fanfiction and I'm hoping it's one of my better ones. Please give me constructive criticism, I really appreciate it. And yes, I know what the summary says. It's starting off slow but I wanted to set the return of Goku up and the reason for Gohan wanting to start training 100%. So bear with me please. R&R

I plan on updating once every 2-3 weeks. I may update quicker but it all depends on my schedule. Well, ta-ta for now. Hope you enjoyed!


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